As a rule, illumination systems of a modern construction, provided in particular for the illumination of larger buildings or plants, offer not only the option of switching on and of, or setting in their brightness, the luminaires arranged in different regions via the switches or dimmers arranged in the respective regions. Instead there is also the possibility of remotely controlling the luminaires from a central control device. Through this a convenient illumination control is obtained for the illumination of larger buildings or complexes. Such illumination systems therefore normally have one or a plurality of command generators which by means of commands can address and control the decentralised lamp operating devices arranged in different regions and connected to a current supply grid. Often, a communication from the lamp operating devices to the command generator is provided, for example to report back faulty operating states. In this way there is made possible not only a comfortable illumination control but also a reliable monitoring of the condition of the illumination system.
The control of the individual lamp operating devices is carried out via an address assigned to them individually, via which they can be addressed by the central control unit. Thereby preferably there are assigned to the lamp operating devices so-called operating addresses which among other things also take into account the arrangement of the light sources in the different regions of the building to be illuminated. Here there arises supplementarily also the possibility of combining the light sources arranged in the different rooms into groups which can be addressed in common by the central control unit.
Nowadays, control systems for lamp operating devices which make possible an individual control of the devices often work in accordance with the so-called DALI (Digital Adressable Lighting Interface) standard. This is an interface developed by the illumination industry for the conveyance of digital control commands between a central control unit and consumers arranged in a distributed manner. Via a so-called DALI-Bus there can then be connected to a command generator up to 64 luminaires, which luminaires are individually addressable. Since the corresponding lamp operating devices do not have any operating address upon their production and installation in the illumination system this must be allocated in the context of an initialization procedure which has to be carried out in accordance with the DALI-Standard as explained below.
After installation of all lamp operating devices, without consideration of their spatial arrangement, at first the operating devices of the individual luminaires are connected to the DALI-Bus, that is to the control line. The supply of the lamp operating devices with voltage effected thereafter results in every lamp operating device generating an individual random address for itself. The command is then issued by the central command generator that the lamp operating devices report with their random address, through which there is stored internally at the command generator a list of all devices, which also contains the information about the random addresses via which the devices are respectively contactable.
Since this random address does not yet, however, take into account the spatial arrangement of the lamp operating device, in a following step there is the allocated the respective operating address provided for later operation. This is effected in that at first the central command generator calls a first random address, which has the consequence that the corresponding luminaire identifies itself, thus for example illuminates. Now a person must determine in which room this luminaire is located. As soon as the position is established, a corresponding return report is effected to the central station. A further person then enters the location and the group of the reporting luminaire into the control device, which has the consequence that a suitable operating address is then assigned to this luminaire. One after another, in this way all random addresses are handled until an operating address has been assigned to all luminaires. This is stored respectively in a corresponding memory of the lamp operating device.
Comparable procedures for assigning operating addresses for lamp operating devices in larger illumination systems are known from EP 0 766 881 A1 or EP 0 433 527 A1. All these known methods are based on the principle that at first the lamp operating devices are called upon for identification on the basis of an original or random address not taking into account the position, wherein after determination of the actual position of the luminaire a new operating address is then assigned to this luminaire.
These known methods for initializing larger illumination systems are in this respect problematic that finding a luminaire which is instantly identifying itself can be very effortful; today, however, these methods are still used. Furthermore they also have, however, the disadvantage that the regular operating address, which was distributed in the context of the initialization procedure from the central command generator, is itself stored in each case in the lamp operating device in question. If an exchange of the corresponding luminaire with the lamp operating device is now required or the lamp operating device is to be exchanged alone, the information about the actual operating address is then lost. This is not a problem in the event that one single lamp operating device has to be exchanged since this can be identified from the central station in relatively simple manner and can be provided with a new operating address—namely the old regular operating address. Should, however, a plurality of lamp operating devices be replaced at the same time, which in the case of maintenance works in larger illumination systems may well be the case, there arises uncertainty. It cannot then then any longer be determined from the central station which exchanged lamp operating device should have which regular operating address. In this case as a rule the entire facility must be programmed anew to assign suitable operating addresses to all devices again.